SHILLONG: Deputy Commissioner and Chairperson District Disaster Management Authority, East Khasi Hills, MW Nongbri said in spite of disaster management trainings being conducted, the preparedness level is still lacking.
Nongbri was speaking at the two-day training of trainers on Psychosocial Care in Disaster Reduction on Monday at the Conference Hall of the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, East Khasi Hills.
The deputy commissioner reiterated the importance of looking beyond the physical impact of disasters and stressed on the need to take proactive steps to take care of people’s emotional impact during disasters.
She also called upon all the participants to take the message of the training to all the districts and blocks of the state.
The programme was organised by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Science (NIMHANS) in collaboration with UNDP and funded by USAID.
Over 30 participants representing educational institutions, government departments, medical institutions and NGOs took part in the training programme, which aims to train participants to identify psychosocial issues among survivors of disasters and in turn, provide them with necessary aid.
Additional Chief Secretary to the state government, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, MS Rao, who attended the programme as the chief guest, informed that Shillong is one of the six cities in the country to be selected for the pilot programme.
He also said in the past, incidences of disasters were tackled without any focus on the psychological effects of the survivors, adding that it is essential to build on the inherent strengths of the community and increase the level of preparedness.
It may be mentioned that the training programme is part of a two-level programme where first-level training focuses on the psychosocial care post disaster while the second-level training deals with mobilising the community for better preparedness.
Meanwhile, Rao also spoke at a training programme on Urban Risk Mitigation at Moreau Institute of Integral Training (MIIT) on Monday.
The training programme was held by the Meghalaya State Disaster Risk Management Authority.
Rao, in his inaugural speech, said that urban settlements are experiencing a wave of disasters, whether man-made or natural.
Due to rapid urbanisation, most urban cities are trying to cope with a number of disasters, from fire, flood to earthquake.
He said the potential risks that exist in Meghalaya are earthquake and landslides, which have posed a major threat to population, especially in the city.
With Meghalaya being situated in a high-seismic zone, Rao said this training should focus more on equipping the line departments’ officials on interventions, requirements such as conforming to safety standards, while constructing a building or setting up factories to avert any catastrophe.
